The Story of the Western Psyche: From Ensouled Cosmos to Disenchanted Space - JMBZ195

• Title: The Story of the Western Psyche: From Ensouled Cosmos to Disenchanted Space
• Guaranteed by: Department of Russian and East European Studies (23-KRVS)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2018
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unknown / unknown (20)
• Min. number of students: 5
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: not taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: Vladimír Lobotka

Annotation

Last update: doc. PhDr. Jiří Vykoukal, CSc. (22.06.2017)

Every challenge we experience in the world is a result of a story we tell ourselves and identify with. If we change
this story, we can change everything. What does it mean? No one can simply cut down a rainforest or enslave a
nation without a powerful story capturing the beliefs of countless people. The stories we live in represent great
metanarrative frameworks in the context of which we see our deeds – no matter what they are – as meaningful.
They enter into our inner depths where they shape our perception and define what we consider as real and what
as illusory. At the same time, they are projected outwards, where they create our external reality and form the
possibilities we are being offered by the world. If we want to understand the roots of the challenges of our era, we
must begin to ask profound questions. What is the story we live in? What are its origins? Who are we? What future
do we want to create together? And what kind of a story could help us get there?

Aim of the course

Last update: doc. PhDr. Jiří Vykoukal, CSc. (22.06.2017)

In effort to answer these difficult questions we will explore the main crossroads the Western psyche passed on its journey in time, and gradually, reflecting upon the great metanarratives informing antiquity, middle ages and modern times, we will learn how and why we accepted the contemporary prevalent perspective of the world with all its positives and negatives. At the same time we will learn how to identify the principles that could be used as a foundation for a new integrative perspective based on empathy and inclusivity.

Literature

Last update: doc. PhDr. Jiří Vykoukal, CSc. (22.06.2017)

Compulsory

Tarnas, R.: The Passion of the Western Mind, Ballantine Books, 1993

(the book will be available in electronical form)

Recommended

Abram, D.: The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World.

Pantheon Books. 1996.

Capra, F.: The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. Anchor. 1997.

Capra, F.: The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living. Anchor. 2004.

Capra, F.: The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture. Bantam. 1984.

Grof, S.: Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research. State

University of New York Press. 2000.

Grof, S.: The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness. State

University of New York Press. 1998.

Kirchhoff, J.: Die Erlösung der Natur: Impulse für ein kosmisches Menschenbild. Drachen

Verlag. 2004.

László, E.: Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything. Inner Traditions.

2007

László, E., Grof, S., Russell, P.: The Consciousness Revolution: A Transatlantic Dialogue.

Element Books Ltd. 1999.

Lovejoy, A.: The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea. Harvard University

Press. 1976.

Sheldrake, R.: Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation. Park Street Press. 2009.

Sheldrake, R.: The Science Delusion. Coronet Books. 2012.

Taylor, Ch.: Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Harvard University Press.

1992.

Wilber, K: A Brief History of Everything. Shambhala. 2001.

Syllabus

Last update: doc. PhDr. Jiří Vykoukal, CSc. (22.06.2017)

1. Two paradigms of history

2. Plato and the transcendent realm of Ideas

3. Aristotle, immanence and the renewal of balance

4. Hellenism and Neoplatonism

5. Christianity and its inner contrasts

6. The downfall of the antique world

7. Dark ages, scholastics and the dispute on the universals

8. Renaissance, reformation and the Copernican turn

9. Rationalism and romantism as two poles of modern world-view

10. The crisis of our era

11. Beyond postmodern mind

12. Integral vision for a new millennium